Warning to British Passport Holders visiting USA

[bealine]

From 26th October 2004, unless our Government manages to negotiate its way out of it, British passport holders who hold a passport without the laminated page bearing the bar code (ie - those issued at Consulates or Embassies or passports with the photograph on the back page) will need a Visa to enter the USA.

[Boss Raptor]

I understand that this has already caused chaos in Belgium as they were given an implementation date of early this year. However very few Belgians have the, for them, new machine readable passports, whereas except for a few exceptions most UK passports for last 5 years or so have had it.

[Globaliser]

The good news is that if you want to get a new passport the Passport Office is now extremely efficient and organised. The horrendous teething problems with the introduction of the new IT appear to have been overcome. I was extremely impressed by the speed with which my application was located and expedited when I needed my new passport sooner than I had thought when I had sent it in the renewal application.

So my advice would be: If you haven't got a machine readable passport, get one now.

[Crepello]

Wise words.

It doesn't end there: Passports issued after 26-Oct-04 must be biometric, i.e. have your digitised picture stored in a small chip in the cover. You can enter after this date on a non-bio, machine-readable passport, but it must have been issued before 26-Oct-04.

US visas will still be issued to holders of hand-written passports, as the visas themselves are machine readable.

Incidentally, I'm told the Belgians could have requested an extension like every other country, but they didn't get their act together.

E&OE.

[Smeagol]

"So my advice would be: If you haven't got a machine readable passport, get one now."


Good advice though it may be, it is a bit more difficult for us folks who do not live in the UK and have to rely on Embassies for passport renewal. As has been pointed out by others, UK passports issued by Embassies do not have bar codes ( at least mine issued in 2001 doesn't).

And will all Embassies be able to issue the 'new' passports with biometric data in the near future? I think not!

Time for all countries to impose reciprocal requirements on our American cousins?

[allthatglitters]

recheck your UK Embassy, as our local one had the bar coding machine delivered and installed during November 2003, I'll be off there soon to renew mine and the kids.

[Smeagol]

ATG

May well check if our local Embassy has the relevent equipment but it will certainly p*ss me off if I have to get a new passport ( my previous one only being issued in 2001 and should be valid until 2011) just to satisfy the paranoia of of the US authorities.

[Snoopy]

The big joke is that even the US authorities have said that they can't have "biometric" passports ready by the deadline they have given the us.

Well, just another reason to fly through Canada.....

[newswatcher]

Unless the US authorities make some considerable improvements to the Visa process, Grosvenor Square is going to host some long queues come this Autumn!

[DishMan]

As my and my 5 family member's passports have all been issued at consulates, (four Paris; three The Hague) from dates since 1995 I looked up whether they were OK as I believe they have all been machine read....
Here's the link for further info:
http://www.ukpa.gov.uk/_history/history_10.asp

Passport Office has produced MRPs since 1988. Only SOME Consulates have not been able to produce them.
MRPs have two lines of "code" running along the bottom of the page containg the "data" + Photo. (This includes name/numbers and a bunch of <<<<<<.

Wonder if I can confuse the US immigration by using different passport on subsequent visits??

Certainly will not try and arrive/leave on different passports!

The only friendly US immigration officer, (I do mean friendly - he smiled and chatted while processing all six passports), I have ever met was this summer taking my whole family over at Dulles. He was clearly of Arabic descent with an arabic name tag.

Virtually all my other encounters have been GRUMPY and often RUDE. Oh and don't even think of doing anything the "Waiting Line Supervisor/desk allotment" lady hasn't told you to do!

[zed3]

My passport was issued in Amsterdam in 1999 so I still have a good few years left before a new one . So , why cannot I go to the Consulate and let them put the digital or biometric whatsits on the last unused page near the back cover where all the info is and plastify it ? Surely this can be done , aah no - that would be service!!!